Lately, I’m banging ever more frequently into information about mindfulness.  It could turn out to be a more beneficial “discovery” of recent science than antibiotics. After all, if somebody told you, you could become more healthy, less stressed, more resilient to infection, happier, with improved memory and focusing abilities, more long lived, better connected to other people, and even enjoying your sex life more ( if you have one…),  with a mere 10 minutes of mental practice a day and for free, wouldn’t it almost sound too good?

I’m in the middle of a very interesting course about happiness, and they also cover extensively the topic. A lot of permanent information is available anyway through the Greater Good site.  What is interesting, is that in my eyes, this mindful movement almost looks like a religious phenomenon in reverse.

Recent scientific studies on happiness perceptions have indicated, that we are less happy, when we live with a duality of mind: doing one thing and thinking of another. This mind drifting is typical and pervasive – seems to occupy almost 47% of our daily wake time.  Mindfulness aims at redirecting our attention to the present moment, in a way which is “kind and non judgmental”. It strives to take advantage of brain plasticity in order to develop pathways which shield us from overreacting to stimuli of everyday life.

The idea, that stress has to be reduced through the rejection of permanent research of pleasure through chasing the rewards and avoiding the pain, is at the basis of the Buddhist thought. The basic Buddhist practice is meditation. Recent research has brought evidence, that mindful meditation alters the structure of the brain, changes expression of genes, modifies several observable physical parameters like blood pressure, length of the telomeres, efficiency of the immune system, and can help treatment of depression and chronic pain.

What I like about mindfulness, is that it is based on two universally acceptable tenets: it is aimed to improve the lives of all human beings without asking for sectarian allegiance, and it is based on scientific research backed by extensive evidence. Various religions have incorporated over time elements of mindfulness, but there has always been a steep price to pay – you had to give up your free mind in exchange for dogmas and become part of a tribe.

Neuroplasticity of the brain, can be explained roughly by this simple sentence: what you think about becomes stronger. Practicing regularly a mindful attitude to your life is going to enhance and increase the amount of grey matter : neurons and their connections, in these parts of the brain which are associated with all the hitherto mentioned positive physiological and psychological changes. Why not take a chance?

“Taking A Chance On Love” – Jane Monheit